


But Not With Haste

by ohemdee



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, M/M, Pre-Movie, nicky gets captured and joe kisses it better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohemdee/pseuds/ohemdee
Summary: He still remembered the first time they’d done this, against the wall of a city his people had conquered and lost and conquered and lost. They’d fought for days, felt like they’d been killing each other for years before they both came to their senses and realized there was no call to continue doing what they were doing. Joe had been no less sweet than he was now when he kissed Nicky nervously, still expecting a knife between his ribs for his efforts. Nicky had seen stars the minute their lips met, and he’d felt the world melt away around them.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 25
Kudos: 284





	But Not With Haste

**Author's Note:**

> So. This is the second time I have attempted to write a fill for the [kinkmeme](https://theoldguardkinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/1468.html?thread=334780#cmt334780) and the second time I have failed. I’m really trying!! I’m just also really bad at reading!! EDIT ON THAT: turns out I DID fill it!! I thought I’d mixed up the characters!! But I hadn’t!! That link now takes you to the prompt.
> 
> Title is from the Mumford & Sons song of the same title.

Nicky had never really adjusted to the way his body knit itself back together. There was something about the way his skin slid across his bones, the feeling of joints popping back into place and the stretch of muscle and fascia moving to secure it all together that had consistently disturbed him. But only for the moment, and then it was back up, and life continued on. Perhaps it was not just their bodies that healed, but their minds too. Something to shake away the horror of it all.

This had been a particularly brutal mission right until its bitter end. Joe and Booker had both been needed on the ground with Andy, which meant he had been left in his nest without a spotter. Unfortunately, that meant he didn’t hear the approach of the enemy from behind, caught up as he was trying to save everyone else’s back, and he was taken hostage.

They’d been pretty good, he told himself later. Stealthy at very least, although as Joe said, an entire band could start up behind him when he was sniper-mode and he wouldn’t notice. They grabbed him fast, and knocked him out even faster, and then that was that.

Fortunately, when the targets didn’t fall as they should, the others caught on, and what was supposed to be a quick in and out turned into a daring rescue mission. Or at least that’s what Nicky told himself was happening while he waited for the others to show up.

The bad guys had strung him up by his wrists, and Nicky swung a bit experimentally, just to see if anything interesting happened. His wrists hurt. Which was not so interesting. His toes just barely scraped the ground, and his shoulders ached with the pressure on them. He tried to look around if there was anything within reach of his feet that he could pull in a little closer, but only succeeded in pulling the muscles in his neck. He hummed a bit to himself, a nonsense tune he’d picked up somewhere and couldn’t remember the rest of. He hoped Joe would hurry up. His wrists had started to bleed and heal, and he really just wanted the whole thing over with.

The door of the cell burst open, and he blinked in the light that streamed in, trying to squint through it and see who’d arrived.

Not his team. Nicky sighed.

Two men marched in, maybe the two men who’d accosted him in the first place (he hadn’t gotten a good look before he was hit on the head). One of them had a knife. One of them had a baton. Ah, bad cop, badder cop. His least favourite game.

Knife-man came up to him first, shoved the point into Nicky’s neck and got in closer than Nicky was comfortable with, thank you very much. 

“Tell us who you work for, and I’ll end this quick.” Ah, bad cop with knife, what a surprise.

“And if I don’t he’ll end it slow?” Nicky jerked his head in the direction of Baton-man.

“Something like that.” Knife-man dug the point in a little deeper. “So, what’ll it be?”

“I work for myself. Self-employed.”

Baton-man whacked his stick against his palm and came in closer. “And your friends.”

“They are employed by me. Small business.” Nicky flinched as the baton smashed into his ribs. “That was not necessary.” It came out on a wheeze. Broken ribs for sure, but of course, he immediately felt the roll of them resetting. Thankfully, not his time.

“I’m going to ask you again.” Knife-man was back at it. “Who’s paying you?”

“I’m telling you, no one.” Unfortunately true on this job, but these were evil men and they needed to be stopped. Stealing goods was one thing, but stealing people a whole other. “I am paid only in the good feelings that come after a hard-“ the baton met the soft meat of his stomach and Nicky was sure something burst internally.

Another hit, just above his kidneys, and then it became a blur of pain and bruises and bones shifting out of place and back into place. Eventually, Nicky’s mind went somewhere else, dissociated from the moment and the trauma. He wondered if the others did this too, when they were tortured. He really wondered where they were right now and when this was going to be over.

Two gunshots brought him back to reality, and the sharp pain of the last cracks of the baton into his flesh made themselves known. He groaned and closed his eyes while his ribs set again. The chains around his wrists loosened, and he sagged into strong arms.

“Joe!” Booker yelled next to his ear. “Joe! He’s over here.”

“Hi Booker.” Nicky slurred a little. His jaw had been broken. “ ‘s nice to see you.”

“Just wait until you see Joe.” Booker shifted his weight a bit and Nicky groaned.

“He is my favourite.”

Booker huffed out a laugh. “Well then maybe he can haul your ass out of here. You’re heavy.”

Nicky approximated a shrug. “I’ll heal, and I’ll walk.”

Joe rounded the corner, positively covered in blood, with his scimitar still in hand. “Oh Nicolò!”

Nicky could practically feel Booker rolling his eyes, so he grinned. “Oh, Yusuf! My shining star, it is a delight to see your face again.”

“Okay, you can stand on your own.” Booker propped him up on his feet and looked over his shoulder. “Andy okay?”

Joe indicated down the hallway he’d come from. “She’s nearly done. We’ll pass her on the way out.”

Nicky started to follow Booker to the door, but Joe rushed in to stop him. “We can rest a moment. You are not done healing, I can tell.” He grabbed Nicky’s hands and kissed the fingertips on each. He spared a glance towards Booker. “Meet you at the door? We will only be a minute while Nicky finishes.”

Booker waved and set off towards Andy.

“This is atrocious.” Joe frowned over his fading bruises and the blood left on his wrists. “They did not deserve to die so quickly.”

“It is what it is, and the end result is the same. I am fine Joe, that’s what matters. I want to go home.”

Joe pressed a kiss to each side of his face and stroked his thumbs across Nicky’s cheekbones before kissing his lips properly and thoroughly.

Nicky smiled into the kiss. “If this is what happens, perhaps I will get captured more often.”

“Don’t you dare even think about that.” Joe frowned at him, but kissed him again anyways. “Let’s go home so we can finish this. And get you in a bath.”

Nicky leaned into his side and wrapped one arm around his waist. Joe offered him a gun, which he took gratefully. “Did you get my rifle?”

“No, sorry my love. I know you liked that one.”

Nicky shrugged. “There’ll be more.”

They stepped over bodies in the hallway, and found Booker and Andy leaning against the doorframe of the entrance, clearly waiting on them.

“All good?” Andy looked over Nicky appraisingly, taking in the blood in his hair and covering his limbs.

She relaxed when he nodded. “Nothing permanent.”

“Good. Let’s hit the road.”

Booker slid into the passenger seat, while Andy took the wheel. Why they could never get a vehicle with a decent sized backseat was beyond Nicky, but it was nice to crunch himself to Joe’s space and let himself be held for the moment. 

Their safe house was a real house, with three working showers, and a working hot water heater. Nicky wanted to live there forever. As soon as they got through the front door, Joe was directly in front of him, walking him backwards towards the stairs that led down to their bedroom, and, more importantly, bathroom.

“Please don’t bother us. Have a nice night!” Nicky called up to Andy and Booker who had already started on their way up to their own beds and baths. He did not get a response except for Booker giving him a curt wave without looking. Rude.

Joe bundled Nicky into the bathroom and started pulling his shirt off, followed quickly by his pants.

“It’s not fair for me to be naked and you to still be clothed.”

Joe laughed and stripped out of his own clothes. He leaned around Nicky to start up their shower, testing the water until he deemed it suitable. 

“Shower first, then perhaps the bath.” Nicky wrapped his arms around Joe and took a moment to bury his face in Joe’s neck. He smelled of sweat and metal, but that was easily remedied, and if they didn’t hug when they smelled bad, they would be spending at least half their lives apart which was completely unacceptable.

“It’s warm, and you still have blood in your hair.” Joe kissed his temple. 

Nicky pulled back from his embrace, and almost tripped over the edge of the tub getting in. The water was divine, and he groaned when it hit his head. And then groaned again when Joe stepped in front of him and dug his fingers into Nicky’s scalp, massaging out the gore.

“Were you hurt today, Joe?” Nicky opened his eyes and let his eyes roam over Joe’s body for cuts that would no longer be there, and then lingered on the erection that definitely was.

“Not even a scratch.” Joe loaded his hands up with shampoo and scrubbed his hands through Nicky’s hair until the water started to run clear. 

Apparently satisfied with that, he grabbed the soap and started to carefully wash over Nicky’s shoulders, his ribs and down his arms. Nicky stole the soap and began to return the favour, letting his hands map out the planes and dips of Joe’s body. They were quiet, the touch saying enough for both of them at the moment. 

Nicky turned them around, and watched the rivulets of water pour down on Joe’s head. He considered briefly dropping to his knees, but Joe wrapped his arms around Nicky’s waist and kissed him breathless instead. A fair enough trade.

Finally, the water started to run cooler, and they were satisfied with the other’s cleanliness. Joe grabbed them towels, splashing water all over the floor because he had to cross the bathroom to do so. Nicky pressed his face into the soft towel that was handed to him, silently blessing modern washers and dryers, and tried to dry off as quickly as he could. The look that Joe was giving him spelled out only delight in what was to come.

Dry enough was going to have to do, because he couldn’t wait a moment longer with the way Joe was eyeing him up from just outside the tub, and he tossed his towel aside. Joe’s face split into a grin.

“Sleep? You must be exhausted.”

Nicky shook his head, trying to fight the smile working its way into his face, and crowded Joe against the bathroom door. “Rest was not what I’d envisioned.” He wrapped his hand around Joe’s erection and pumped, once, twice. “But if you are tired, of course we can sleep.”

Joe laughed and pushed him forward enough to open the door, kissing Nicky the whole time, which was terribly inefficient, but perhaps that was the joy in it.

They eventually made their way to their bed, only stopping once or twice against the walls of the hallway to slide their hands in between their bodies, revelling in the feel of each other under their palms.

Joe shoved Nicky down. “Can I take care of you?”

Nicky stretched his arms overhead, a facsimile of his earlier adventures. “I think I could handle that.”

Joe grinned and slid up his body, interlocking their fingers and lips. He stretched up and pressed kisses to Nicky’s wrists, to his jaw and his collarbones.

“Do you plan on kissing every injury?” Nicky nuzzled into Joe’s hair while he worked his lips along Nicky’s left shoulder.

“If I could kiss every hurt you have ever received, I would do so.” Joe moved onto his ribs, running his teeth along the bump of each bone, and his tongue into the spaces in between.

“That would take all of our lifetimes.”

“Then it’s good we have so many.” Finally, Joe was approaching the right area, his mouth moving along Nicky’s stomach, and around each hip. When he finally wrapped his lips around his cock, the moan Nicky let out surprised him.

They paused at the stomping on their ceiling. Booker was above them, then. They waited a moment until they heard the door slam, and smiled sheepishly at each other. Good showers, thin walls, but they took what they could get. And then they continued.

Nicky buried his hands in Joe’s hair, not forcing, just looking for a grip to centre himself on.

“Joe, I am going to be fast.” He couldn’t help it, Joe’s mouth was hot and perfect. Joe tapped his thigh, and Nicky let himself tip over the edge, spilling into Joe’s mouth.

Joe kept sucking until he was mostly clean and shoving at his head, oversensitive, and then came back up, grinning, and kissing Nicky when he sat up to meet Joe halfway. Nicky deftly flipped them over, less patient to mark his mouth over Joe’s body, but eager to return the favour.

He still remembered the first time they’d done this, against the wall of a city his people had conquered and lost and conquered and lost. They’d fought for days, felt like they’d been killing each other for years before they both came to their senses and realized there was no call to continue doing what they were doing. Joe had been no less sweet than he was now when he kissed Nicky nervously, still expecting a knife between his ribs for his efforts. Nicky had seen stars the minute their lips met, and he’d felt the world melt away around them.

This was fortunately less desperate, less hurried, and the years of practice had only brought him more delight in seeing Joe’s head thrown back, and the feel of his fingers across Nicky’s hair.

“Nico, I am as fast as you today.” Joe groaned when Nicky brought him further into his mouth. Nicky felt his muscles flex, and the salty-bitter taste spilled across the back of his tongue.

He licked Joe as clean as he could and crawled up next to him. He stretched out, rested his head on Joe’s chest and entangled their legs. Joe pulled in a deep breath and let it go slowly. Nicky started to drift listening to the steady beat of his heart against his cheek.

“Love you Nicolò.” They didn’t say it often anymore. Time had pulled meaning away from so many words, and it rarely felt necessary. But it was nice to hear, nonetheless.

Nicky pressed a lazy kiss to Joe’s chest. “Love you too, Yusuf.”

Content, they let unconsciousness sweep over them, washing them into another tomorrow where they were together, which, in the end, was all they needed.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [oh-emdee](http://oh-emdee.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Thank you for reading! If you want to send me prompts, I would love to receive them over on tumblr, although if my track record on kinkmeme fills holds, I won’t exactly write what you send <3


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